The Places We Stand
by candyflavordlies
Summary: When you come face to face with the end of the world, you can't help but wonder where you stand.
1. Weight of the World

They spend hours looking for survivors and his body hates him for it. The HUD was damaged in the fall but with a bit of tinkering, he was able to get most of it working. Even with that, the slightly blurred lines and huge crack in the capacitive screen are giving him a headache. It might also have something to do with falling out of the sky at about a hundred miles an hour but he refuses to think about that.

Tony does one last scan of the building before giving Thor and Captain America the thumbs up. The structure is fractured but empty and they move on to the next.

Barton and Romanoff are directing the National Guard and coordinating the rescue and evacuation process with FEMA. Between them and the NYPD, most of the people needing serious medical attention have been airlifted to the nearest hospitals. A makeshift refuge is established in Madison Square Garden and there are buses waiting at every bridge in order to get people out of the city. The mayor has declared a state of emergency and ordered all non-response vehicles off the streets.

And Tony? He just wants to see Pepper. He's scared to stop moving because he knows what happens when he does. It's Afghanistan all over again and Jesus Christ, he was in space.

He closes his eyes and let's the vertigo pass. He has no interest in testing the hypothesis, but he's sure throwing up in the Iron Man suit would suck.

"JARVIS, any update on flight traffic?"

"All airports remain closed, sir. All flights are currently being diverted to the nearest available hubs. Military jets are monitoring the surrounding area. Miss Pott's flight has been grounded in Philadelphia. Would you like me to try her again?"

"No. Let me know when they reopen Kennedy."

"Yes sir."

"Stark, is there anyone in there?"

Tony does a fly through of the six story building but it's vacant and structurally, much better off than the ones around it.

"All clear." He exits through the rooftop entrance and takes a moment to survey the city. There are entire buildings missing and billions of dollars in damage. The death toll is high in the hundreds and he hopes, almost prays that it stops there. They've pushed themselves beyond human, and Asgardian, limits and still, there is so much to be done.


	2. Honor, Above All Else

This is madness. Steve has trouble fathoming the scope of damage. It's exactly and nothing like the war and everything he fought against. This is Germany all over again, limitless destruction in all its horrifying glory. This is a city brought to it's knees and but for the grace of God and a few superheroes, it's still standing. He glances sideways at Thor and his suspicions are confirmed from the grim look on his face.

Madness.

They work together to clear the entrances to the subway systems. In fleeing the chaos, civilians took shelter underground and are now trapped under rubble and alien machinery. The dead Chitauri litter the streets and their heavy bodies make the clean up difficult that much more difficult.

Thor's disdain is clear on his face. He too, finds this immeasurably wrong. He has trouble comprehending that his brother has a part in this. He finds it hard to control his anger and the skies rumble in agreement. A bolt of lightening strikes the skyscraper behind him, the energy drawn to the harnessing rod atop it. In the dwindling light, he can see clear through the structure to the rubble beyond. The sky roils angrily. He continues to clear debris, tossing the limp bodies of the enemy into a haphazard pile to his left. It is one thing to enter into war, to send warning and heralds with terms and an ambassador. It is quite another to lead an assault on an unsuspecting people with the intention of subjugation and that is what Thor cannot comprehend. Loki was raised in Asgaard, raised in the ways of honor and here he is embroiled with lies and treachery. This, he thinks angrily, will not stand.

Up above, Tony dodges a lightening bolt. "Hey Captain, tell Point Break to give it a rest. I've had enough near death experiences for the day."

Steve nods even if Tony can't see him. He turns to his companion, who is lost deep in thought. It occurs to him that he knows almost nothing about the man he's been fighting beside. That doesn't sit well with him. As he's moving a fallen lamp post out of the way, he asks, "Have any plans after this?"

Thor hesitates. "There is a...woman. Of your people."

"Dr. Foster." Steve smiles at him knowingly. "She came up in the briefing reports."

Thor nods as he resumes their arduous task. "I have not seen her since my last visit. I fear I did not leave a good impression."

"From what I read, you took down a giant robot almost single-handedly. That's gotta count for something."

Thor grunts.

"I have learned that strength is not the only measure of a man. Jane Foster is a woman of great knowledge and I... "

Steve drops the wire mesh he's torn free from the crumbling concrete in front of them. "And you're the God of Lightening." He places a reassuring hand on Thor's shoulder and offers him a small smile. "Trust me, it counts."


	3. Brothers in Arms

With his feet solidly back on the ground, Tony feels heavy. His body is battered and bruised and his mind isn't much better off. In his mind, he's still falling, waiting for someone to catch him, waiting to hit the ground.

"You okay?"

He turns to find Bruce behind him, dressed in a pair of military issued pants and gray shirt. Tony shakes his head.

"How much clothing do you go through a year?"

"I try not to make it a frequent occurrence."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Neither did you."

Tony shrugs. "Fair enough." The conversation comes to a halt. They big take the time to look around, to take in a city they've both called home at some point. It's been crushed, crumbling minute by minute. Tony looks away.

"Seriously, how are you? At that the speed you were falling... "

"I'm fine."

Bruce scoffs. "Yeah." He shakes his head. As a scientist, he *knows* that velocity coupled with The Hulk's not so graceful was enough to break a spine. And though he isn't terribly familiar with the Iron Man suits, he's pretty sure it wasn't meant to travel to space, to another dimension even and there was sure to be collateral damage. He shrugs and gestures forward. "Want to take a walk?"

Tony is about to protest when Bruce starts moving. "We've been at this for hours. Thor and the Captain are taking care of the rescue efforts over on the east side and S.H.E.I.L.D has most of the west side covered. You need a break."

"You should come over for dinner sometime."

"Okay..."

"You and Pepper would make a great set of nannies."

"Pepper?"

"You know, CEO of Stark Industries, most patient person in the world, the woman who is absolutely going to kill me when she gets back. God am I in trouble when she gets back."

Bruce is only vaguely aware of who he's talking about. He was off the grid for a very, very long time and he's made it a point not to read the news or watch TV. He was too afraid of what he might see or hear.

"Are you two, uh," Bruce gestures vaguely.

"Yeah. I guess, I don't know. We never really talked about it. But we live together so, yeah."

"Have you spoken to her since?" Since when remains unspoken and will probably stay that way for some time to come. It's still unbelievable, even for a man who turns into a giant green monster. Bruce doesn't think he wants to go down that scientific rabbit hole just yet. Tony is silent again. For a moment, he has the terrible notion that maybe she hadn't gotten out of New York in time. He doesn't know what to say or how to ask so he remains quiet.

Tony knows she's alive - JARVIS has been monitoring her vitals since forever and he would know but why hadn't she answered her phone? The question creates a knot in his chest that he can't unfurl. He'd wanted to hear her voice for days now and he misses her with everything he is. He needs her to be here now.

He almost died. Again. Three times is too many in his book.

"JARVIS, any updates?"

"No sir."

"Any word from Rhodey? "

"No sir."

Tony nods because he doesn't expect anything different. Bruce raises an eyebrow at the exchange.

"He's polite."

"He's British. And an AI."

"Ah."

They fall into silence again, standing side by side, staring up into the smoke filled sky.

Tony jolts when Bruce slings an arm around his shoulder. He uses it to not so subtly steer them away from the scene.

"Come on, I need to walk off that schwarma or it'll go straight to my thighs."

Tony snorts but doesn't protest. A walk would do him good.


	4. Impossible

Natasha feels like hell. And Barton sure looks like it. Unlike their counterparts, neither have superhuman strength nor super high tech armor. So a punch is a punch, a kick is a kick and a fracture is a fracture. She holds her ribs gingerly as she takes in shallow breaths. It isn't the first time she's cracked a one, so she sucks it up. There are more important things to worry about.

Dr. Banner's alter ego was instrumental in moving the larger debris to free people trapped in basements and vehicles. Now that the NYPD and FDNY were here, the rescue operations were finally getting somewhere and the Hulk was finally allowed to take a break. She pushes a few strands of hair out of her face as she surveys the remaining personnel.

From behind her, she hears crunching gravel. She recognizes the footsteps. "That was nothing like Budapest." Clint is rubbing a dirty rag across his face in a futile attempt to feel clean again. There is so much blood that it mixes together to form sticky patches across his body. Some is his, some hers. Some is from rescued victims and some of it from the dead Chitauri. Overall, he feels like the dumpster in a hospital alleyway.

Natasha smirks but doesn't turn around. The less movement the better. "Sure it was. I did all the work while you stood around posing."

"Funny."

She sighs heavily and turns towards him. "No, not really."

He shakes his head in agreement. "No. Not at all."

It's sobering once they get a good look at each other. Unfathomable and inescapable, the reality hits them again. They spent the last few hours defending the world against an alien invasion. And the fight is written across their bodies in the form of broken bones. Of dark bruises and soon to be scars.

"Ribs again?" He doesn't look at her as he continues to scrub his hands with the dirty towel. "What is that, 4th time?" Natasha rolls her eyes.

"Don't think I didn't hear you hobble over here."

"Come on, let's go find the med tent. We can report back to Director Fury from there." She's about to protest but she doesn't really know what she's going to say. They've done all they can and from the looks of it, emergency services can handle it for now.

She takes a moment to look back on the devastation. When she turns back to Clint, she's got a small smirk on her face.

"I can check aliens off my bucket list." He smiles back at her, remembering this little game.

"Right. Now all we need are unicorns, vampires, witches, flying pigs..."

"We knocked the pigs out that time in Germany."

"That did _not_ count."

They continue down the list of impossibilities, although the word has understandably lost some of its meaning.


End file.
